Solvay to offer employees financial reward for their efforts during COVID-19

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Solvay says it will devote up to EUR16.0 million (USD18.9 million) of the cash it generates this year to provide a "special reward" to all its non-executive employees worldwide in recognition of their efforts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, said Chemweek.

The reward is on top of the company’s yearly bonuses and will be paid out before the end of the year, Solvay says. Solvay delivered record free cash flow of EUR801 million in the first nine months of 2020, and says this has allowed it to resume investments for the future, unlocking EUR60 million in capital expenditure, and enabled it to invest in its people.

"Our record cash generation over the past six quarters, and our efforts to cut costs and focus on what is essential, are thanks in large part to our employees who worked diligently from home or showed up every day onsite to make essential products, as all our plants remained operational throughout the crisis," says Ilham Kadri, CEO of Solvay.

Separately, Lanxess announced last week that it would pay a special bonus to employees for their commitment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As MRC informed earlier, Solvay and Composites One have entered an exclusive negotiation period for the acquisition of Solvay’s Process Materials (PM) business by Composites One. The PM business provides a broad array of vacuum bagging materials including bagging films, breather fabrics, release films and fabrics, peel plies, sealant tapes plus valves and hoses. Additionally, the business is a leader in the manufacture of tailored consumable kits and hard and soft tooling.

As MRC informed earlier, Solvay SA said it will close two plants making composites for Airbus SE and Boeing Co. in a sign the deepening aerospace crisis is hitting suppliers of even the latest aircraft materials. The Belgian chemical maker is adding to savings achieved in the past year following the grounding of Boeing’s 737 Max. The latest measures from Solvay Chief Executive Officer Ilham Kadri will lead to about 570 job cuts, or 20% of the workforce in Solvay’s composites unit.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,594,510 tonnes in the first nine months of 2020, up by 1% year on year. Only high denstiy polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 880,130 tonnes in the nine months of 2020 (calculated using the formula: production minus exports plus imports, exluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply increased exclusively of PP random copolymer.

Solvay S.A. is a Belgian chemical company, one of the largest in Europe and the world with a market share of 27%, is the second largest PVC producer and the fourth largest caustic soda producer in Europe. The company's activities are concentrated in two main areas - the chemical sector (plastics production) and the pharmaceutical sector.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SATORP, the parent company of Arabian Aramco Total Services Company, incurred net losses of SAR 804.4 million during the third quarter (Q3) of 2020, a year-on-year (YoY) rise of 62.8%, according to Chemweek.

The surge in quarterly loss resulted from a decrease in refining and petrochemical margins, driven by market conditions, according to a bourse disclosure on Monday.

Revenue for the July-September period of this year reached SAR 5.98 billion, down by 26.5% when compared to SAR 8.14 billion in the year-ago period.

In the first nine months of 2020, the company’s losses deepened by 95.8% on a yearly basis to SAR 1.79 billion.

As MRC informed earlier, in July, 2018, SATORP (Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemicals Company) selected Axens to evaluate, develop, and implement an Advanced Process Control (APC) system for its aromatics complex ParamaX producing high purity paraxylene (PX) and benzene.

PX is the main feedstock for the production of purified terephthalic acid (PTA), which, in its turn, is used to produce polyethylene terephthalate (PET). PET is used in the manufacturing of plastic bottles, films, packaging containers, in the textile and food industries.

According to MRC's ScanPlast, Russia's estimate PE consumption reached 52,71o tonnes in September 2020, down by 27% year on year. Overall PE consumption in Russia reached 530,750 tonnes in the first nine months of 2020, down by 22% year on year.

SATORP, located in Jubail, owns a 400,000-bpd refinery and petrochemicals units with a combined total of 1 MMtpy.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India’s top refiner Indian Oil Corp has been operating at 100% capacity since early November as local fuel demand has recovered, its chairman S.M. Vaidya said, said Reuters.

IOC has been gradually raising crude runs at its plants, which plunged to about 39% at the beginning of April when a nationwide coronavirus lockdown hit fuel demand.

Along with its subsidiary Chennai Petroleum Corp, IOC controls about a third of the 5 MMbpd refining capacity in India, where fuel demand in October rose by 2.5%, its first year-on-year rise in eight months. IOC is operating at full capacity despite lower global refining margins as its “mandate” is to meet the local fuel demand, Vaidya told an oil industry conference on Thursday.

“Refining margins are very poor, in fact they are just not sustainable ... but we are also investing heavily in petrochemicals as a strategy to de-risk the business of low margins,” Vaidya said during the ADIPEC event. Like other Indian refiners, IOC normally operates its plants at more than installed capacity. Vaidya said the situation will return to normal in next quarter.

As MRC informed earlier, Indian Oil Corp. Ltd. (IOC) has approved the addition of a petrochemical and lube integration component to its previously announced and long-planned project that will expand crude oil processing capacity of its 13.7 million-tonne/year Koyali refinery at Vadodara in India’s western state of Gujarat.

As MRC informed earlier, IOC is expanding its petrochemical capacity by more than 70 per cent from its current 3.2 million tonnes a year. It is also on new technologies that reduces the cost of producing petrochemicals.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 767,2900 tonnes in the eight months of 2020 (calculated using the formula - production minus exports plus imports - and not counting producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply increased exclusively of PP random copolymer.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited, or IndianOil, is an Indian state-owned oil and gas corporation with its headquarters in New Delhi, India.
MRC

1. Total production slammed by OPEC+ cuts, but finances show 'resilience' in Q3

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Total's oil and gas production dropped 11% on the year in the third quarter, to 2.72 million b/d of oil equivalent and it forecast full-year output below 2.9 million boe/d on the back of OPEC+ cuts, as its third-quarter results showed financial improvement Oct. 30, reported S&P Global. In a results statement, Total said its Q3 production had been affected by OPEC+ cuts in Angola, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Nigeria and the UAE as well as voluntary reductions in Canada and disruption in Libya, noting in particular the "reinforcement" of cuts by Nigeria. The company's liquids production was down 16% on the year at 1.44 million b/d, although it noted OPEC+ cuts were offset by increases from the UK's Culzean gas field, Norway's Johan Sverdrup, Brazil's Iara and Italy's Tempa Rossa.In the context of strong OPEC+ compliance and lower North American production, Total "anticipates full-year 2020 production below 2.9 million boe/d," compared with 3.01 million boe/d in 2019, it said. However, CEO Patrick Pouyanne noted a "more favorable" business environment, and the company highlighted its July sale of the UK's Lindsey refinery, as well as its conversion of the Grandpuits refinery to a "zero-oil" producer of biofuels and bioplastics. "The oil market environment remains uncertain and will depend notably on the speed of the global demand recovery, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic," Total said.



MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of polyethylene (PE) into Ukraine in the ten months of 2020 were about 224,900 tonnes, which practically corresponded to the last year's figure. Imports of all PE grades increased, with linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) being the exception, according to MRC's DataScope report.

Last month, external supplies of polyethylene to Ukraine amounted to slightly less than 20,700 tonnes against 21,900 tonnes in September, local companies reduced their purchases of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE). Thus, overall PE imports reached 224,900 tonnes in January-October 2020, compared to 224,200 tonnes a year earlier.

Imports of all grades of ethylene polymers increased, with LLDPE, demand for which subsided in all consumption sectors, being the only exception. The supply structure by PE grades looked the following way over the stated period.

October imports of pipe HDPE into the country increased to 7,500 tonnes, compared with 6,800 tonnes in September, Ukrainian companies have increased their purchases of pipe and blow moulding polyethylene. Overall HDPE imports exceeded 80,900 tonnes in the ten months of 2020 versus 79,400 tonnes a year earlier.

October imports of low density polyethylene (LDPE) into Ukraine were about 6,400 tonnes, which almost the same as a month ago. Overall LDPE imports reached 67,300 tonnes over the stated period, compared to 66,000 tonnes a year earlier.

Last month's imports of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) were about 5,900 tonnes, compared to 7,400 tonnes in September, shipments of Middle Eastern film LLDPE decreased. Overall LLDPE imports reached 65,100 tonnes in January-October 2020, compared to 68,200 tonnes a year earlier.

Imports of other PE grades, including ethylene-vinyl-acetate (EVA), totalled about 11,500 tonnes over the stated period, compared to 10,500 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC